THIS was the scene outside Sedgemoor Crematorium in Stretcholt as traffic became gridlocked by cars parked at the side of the road.

The photos were sent in by Alison Bird, who runs a building business from the village with her husband.

She told the Weekly News: “The road to our village was totally blocked due to cars parking down Red Lane.

It was total gridlock and very dangerous, as cars were backing out onto the main A38. When planning consent was given for Sedgemoor Crematorium, the villagers were promised it would not cause any disruption to people who lived in Stretcholt.

“This is not the first time cars have been backed out onto the main road, as the slow progression of funeral corteges also causes this problem when they stop as they reach the gates to the crematorium.”

Mrs Bird said the road was blocked for over 30 minutes until the funeral had finished, but guests were unable to leave, as the entrance was blocked by vehicles trying to drive to the village that had become stuck behind parked cars.

She added: “It affected many businesses. There were people with lorries, horse boxes, vans and tractors all trying to do a day’s work who had to just sit and wait.

“Something really needs to be done about this before someone gets seriously hurt. Maybe there could be ‘no parking’ signs in the lane.”

John Proffitt, national operations manager for Westerleigh Group, which runs the crematorium, said: “We have over 80 parking spaces, our chapel holds 100 people, as well as being able to park cars on the verges within the site so people can park off the road – this exceeds the national recommendation for crematoria parking.

“We always have staff available to ensure visitors are directed to the most appropriate parking.We hope residents in Stretcholt have benefited from the extensive widening work carried out to the entrance of Red Lane.

“This was a one off event, where every precaution had been taken, including lengthening the service time and having staff on hand.

“We would though urge visitors not to park on the road and wait for our staff to guide them to an appropriate space as there should be more than adequate parking available.”